The View From Not Behind My Sunglasses

A sunny day at the office. Too nice to actually be in the office. A good day to get out on the road and see the world.

Yeah, see the world. Except that it is really sunny and I don’t have my sunglasses. Tragedy. I like my sunglasses.

I’m having to look at the world in a different way – squinty. That isn’t cool. According to my calculations, I am 1/3 less cool when I don’t have my sunglasses. It is a challenge to go through the day functioning on 2/3 of my already limited cool.

In my mind’s un-squinty eye, I can see them. The sunglasses are sitting on a counter top at my house. They are right where I left them, enjoying an unplanned day off. They aren’t helping me one bit there, but they look good doing it.

My unprotected eyes spot the sign for the Chin Garden restaurant.

You Say Chin, I Say China

Chin Garden. Hmmmm. Is it owned by the Chin family? Perhaps. Or maybe it belongs to a thrifty group of people who saved money by leaving the letter A out of China. I’d like to know which of those it is, because I’m pretty sure it is one of those two options. I’d like to know, but I won’t ask.

Pride Jazzy Select power chair (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ll ride around and wonder what the answer is. But if I was wearing 1/3 more cool, I would go find out. I would march right in and order some Kung Pao. Then I’d ask about the sign. I’d tell them that they’d have saved more if the sign said China Den. Of course, they’d have saved even more if the sign just said Eat, but that isn’t particularly descriptive of the cuisine.

Jazzy Vs Hoveround

Later, I squint at a woman zipping up the sidewalk on an electric wheel chair. Behind her by about twenty feet is a man on a similar chair. It looks like a race to me. I’d like to stop and see how the race ends, maybe even cheer on my favorite racer.

Cool sunglasses me would stop and watch. I’d cheer the man on. The woman is riding a Hoveround , but I’ve always been more of a fan of the Jazzy power chair. The guy is on a Jazzy, and she’s got a lead on him. I’d still pull for him because he’s really trying. Who doesn’t love the underdog?

Well, actually, the big reason I’d pull for the guy is because the woman has an oxygen tank on her chair, a tube forcing that air into her nose and she’s smoking. I can tell that isn’t cool, with or without my sunglasses.

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If I hadn't written this, I would use these to tell people I'd read it.

My town, too, has people who race around on those electric wheelchairs. In fact, if you get in their way, they’re liable to mow you down! It’s probably not the best thing to admit, but I felt sorrier for them when they were in hand-operated chairs.